DOUBLING DOWN is what a naive gambler does to recover a loss. If he drops a dollar on heads or tails, he can get it back by betting a second dollar, but only if he wins. If he loses again, he bets two, then four, doubling down again and again until he wins.

Senator Obama is doubling down on his opposition to oil drilling in sections of the Outer Continental Shelf that are now off-limits.

TOMORROW is the 20th anniversary of the first broadcast of the Rush Limbaugh Show. Said he in 2005:

I love being a conservative. We conservatives are proud of our philosophy. Unlike our liberal friends, who are constantly looking for new words to conceal their true beliefs and are in a perpetual state of reinvention, we conservatives are unapologetic about our ideals. We are confident in our principles and energetic about openly advancing them. We believe in individual liberty, limited government, capitalism, the rule of law, faith, a color-blind society and national security. . . . And at our core we embrace and celebrate the most magnificent governing document ever ratified by any nation -- the U.S. Constitution. Along with the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes our God-given natural right to be free, it is the foundation on which our government is built and has enabled us to flourish as a people.

Over these twenty years, he has educated us, inspired us, maddened us when he was wrong, and changed our politics and culture, mostly for the better. (By "us," I mean me and fellow dittoheads -- folks who generally approve of el Rushbo. For those who generally disapprove, scratch "educated" and "inspired" and double up on "maddened.)

Happy anniversary, Mr. Limbaugh, and best wishes for at least twenty more!

BACK IN APRIL, James A. Baker, III, the former U.S. secretary of state who now lives in Houston, published a nice op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on why Congress should pass the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

[T]his spring, the world is watching to determine if the United States will remain committed to embracing a free-market global economy [or] display a growing isolationist attitude that can befuddle and vex our allies around the world.

Since then, sadly, Congress has turned its back on Colombia and on free trade. If Senator Obama wins the presidency, a form of protectionism will become national policy for the first time since Herbert Hoover.

DESPITE THE FONDEST wishes of the naysayers, the U.S. economy just keeps on ticking. Instead of curling up and dying in the second quarter, it grew. From the Bureau of Economic Analysis:

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the second quarter of 2008 . . . .

[Referring to record profits by ExxonMobil and other oil companies:] Makin' money hand over fist. Makin' out like bandits.

Now the latest scheme is, well, we're gonna drill offshore.

[This] is what Washington does. It pats you on the back and says we're gonna do something. And in the meantime, the oil companies are shoving this thing down the throats of Congress because they know everybody wants to try to pretend like they're doing something about the energy crisis. And [the oil companies] end up making out like bandits again.

[L]et's make the oil companies drill where they've already got leases, since we've given [the leases] to 'em.

July 30, 2008

HERE IS A TRANSCRIPT of Senator Obama's remarks on energy policy at Glendale High School, Springfield, Missouri, July 30, 2008. The transcript was made from this video posted by the Springfield News-Leader, from about the 46:00-minute mark to about the 40:00-minute mark. Mr. Obama spoke from behind a podium with this sign: "Economic / Security / For American Families / www.barackobama.com."

THE PRAIRIE ACADIAN Culture Center in Eunice, Louisiana, will tell everything you need to know about Prairie Cajuns.

While the Serious Person in your group studies this Serious Stuff, sneak out to the lobby and buy a copy of "Humor Cajun Style" by Dave Petitjean. It will be one of the least politically correct CDs in your collection, but one of the funniest.

Well, it was primarily . . . Cindy's idea. She was in Bangladesh, and she and some medical personnel visited Mother Teresa's orphanage to try and help the children there. There were two little baby girls there. One had a heart problem, the other a severe cleft palate. Cindy was very concerned about their ability to survive and their need for medical treatment, so she decided to bring them here for medical treatment. She fell in love with both of them. We decided to adopt Bridget. Two close friends adopted Mickey, the other child. . . . [Bridget] has enriched our lives. She's a wonderful child, a complete part of our family, and we love her.